It's elderflower season!
Well strictly speaking it isn't but the whether has been so warm lately that elderflowers are blooming nearly more than a month early. I know this because I made fritters in late June last year.
They were so good that I couldn't wait to get my hands on some more this year, so I am glad they are early.
Elderflowers grow almost everywhere so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding your own in the countryside. I am lucky, I have a tree in my garden!
I am waiting for some more to bloom so I can make cordial too. So check back for a post on that.
Last time I made fritters they were nice but the batter was a little dense and my technique wasn't so great so they weren't all that pretty. I replaced some of the milk for sparkling water this time around, giving them a light batter, much like you would use for tempura.
Elderflower Fritters - serves 2 / makes 6 fritters
6 heads of elderflower - checked for bugs
50ml of milk
100ml of sparkling water
100g of self raising flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 egg
ground nut or sunflower oil for frying
Use your elderflowers as soon as you've picked them, if left too long they start to smell strange and lose their floral scent. Check them for any bugs but do not wash them otherwise you'll lose all the lovely pollen, which is where the flavour is.
To make your batter mix together the milk, water and then the egg. Slowly whisk in your flour, salt and baking powder until you have a loose batter - the consistency of single cream. Add more water if necessary.
Heat about 2-3 inches of oil in a large saucepan. Pop a bit of batter in after about 2 minutes to check if it is hot enough.
Dip your elderflower head in and twist slowly to make sure it is fully battered, then pull out and let the excess batter drip off. Carefully put into the hot oil - if you keep the stems long when picking you will have something to hold on to. Fry in batches for a few minutes until golden brown, drain on kitchen paper.
I like to serve them drizzled with honey and with a scoop of ice cream.
